PREECEVILLE - The Ketchen Lake Bible Camp is always looking for fundraiser ideas and recently got very creative with a Christmas gift and bake sale that raised over $4,000. The sale was held on November 26 and November 27 in the basement of the Evangel Tabernacle Church.
“The response was just overwhelming,” said Elaine Brewer, camp director. Items that were featured included baking, and a wide assortment of new and gently used items.
“It is so great to see so many people that we have not seen in a long-time,” continued Brewer. “Camp this year was a little bit of a challenge with finding more staff to accommodate more campers due to the government announcement that was made prior to the beginning of camp. The announcement allowed us to have overnight camps that required more staff. We hosted an overnight camp for three weeks and a day camp for one week in July.
The following historical information was supplied by Brewer.
Ketchen Lake Bible Camp had its start on the CCF grounds at Chrystal Lake in 1941, under the leadership of Edwin Wright, the camp at that time was a boy’s camp, which Wright ran for three years. In 1944, a radio preacher in Yorkton by the name of Ed Erickson received a phone call from a young lady wondering if he would assist in the camp work at Crystal Lake. Mr. Erickson, along with two of his friends from a small Bible school in Moose Jaw, Herbert Peeler and Ewald Schmidt, joined Wright in 1944, on the CCF grounds at Crystal Lake, a camp program for boys and girls was started. Peeler took time every summer for many years to come to Crystal Lake Camp and preach. He considered this time at camp in a tent with his family his annual vacation.
Three chapel services a day, as well as swimming sports, games, and Bible memorization were part of a typical camp day in the 40’s. Peeler recruited teams of workers from the Bible school at Pambrun, and helped run the camp for many years.
Then the Department of Health told the camp they would have to install septic tanks, flush toilets and running water if they were to continue camping at Crystal Lake. At that time, they were on a yearly lease agreement and with the new health regulations, they wanted more than a one-year lease. They preferred a 99-year lease, but the owner wouldn't think of it. That was the start of the searching for a new location.
The search started around Crystal Lake, but there was nothing available for the size of land they needed.
There was a meeting to discuss the future of the camp. After talking things over, George Bellows said to Peter Steppan, "There must be some lakes up in your country we could get some land next to." So, Peter, Don Kachman, George Buhler (their pastor) and Jerry Goertzen began to search the different lakes in the area.
Squaw Lake and Lomond Lake were looked at, but no land was available. While driving to search for a place, Peter told stories of the inhabitants north of Ketchen. One story he told was about an elderly lady whom everybody called the "cat woman." She had or was supposed to have had up to forty cats that lived with her on the hill between the grid road and the lake. At this time, Peter and Don had exhausted every possibility for a place and were ready to give up. They thought that maybe, for some reason, God didn't want them to have a camp.
After listening to the stories about the "cat woman," they were interested and wanted to see the old shack she lived in. They had already given up hope, it was late in the afternoon and they were driving right by her place. They walked around the old shack and then wandered down to the lakeshore, expecting nothing but mud and got the surprise of their lives. It was hard sand with bulrushes growing in it. They drove in to where the camp is now and found an old building site, house, sheds for rabbits, hay corral, and so on, and best of all there was hard sand for the beach.
They found out the land belonged to Eddie Nelson, whom Peter knew well. Peter phoned Eddie, and found out the Wildlife Federation had offered $3,000 for the quarter but no papers had been signed yet. Peter asked if he would sell it to them for a Bible Camp and hold off the deal for a couple weeks so a meeting could be held. It was agreed upon, at the meeting, that the location would be perfect.
With many hands and hours of volunteering, the camp was set up with the basics that first spring, cutting it very close to the start of camp, a couple days to be exact.
The first camp director, Norman Taylor, served many duties, including camp speaker and maintenance man. Mrs. Taylor served as the camp cook. The first campers slept in Army Bell tents which slept about 8 to 10 campers and a large 30 x 50-foot circus tent was used for a place to hold meetings. During that first year, things were updated with a dining hall and chapel. Washrooms, showers and power were added a couple years later.
From then, a longhouse, eight cabins, brand new washrooms, kitchen addition, director’s residence (house), nurse’s station and sports/canteen shed have been added. Improvements and adjustments are made every year. Recently they have added two new cabins, one for the boys and one for the girls. Other additions include a basketball court, staff accommodations and so much more.
There have also been many directors that have come and gone in the many years of Ketchen Lake Bible Camp.
